BurmaNet News, October 13, 2005

[Editor]

October 13, 2005 Issue # 2822


INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima: Two Britons alleged to be aiding Burma internet censors
DVB: Burmese heroine Su Su Nway is in prison
Xinhua: Myanmar successfully invent unicode Myanmar language character system
AP: Criticism of distinguished authors' report on Myanmar takes a turn for
the verse
Irrawaddy: Sign of the times

REGIONAL
Bangkok Post: Panel suspects foul play in Karen deaths
AFP: Malaysia to issue biometric ID cards to foreign workers

INTERNATIONAL
Inter Press Service: UN launches new Democracy Fund
Narinjara: Daewoo to face new challenges from activists against its gas
business interests in Burma
AFP: Money laundering watchdog clears Nauru, keeps pressure on Nigeria,
Myanmar

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Maybe this time

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

October 13, Mizzima News
Two Britons alleged to be aiding Burma internet censors

Two British men living in Rangoon and working for Bagan Cybertech are
allegedly providing the company with the technical know-how for more
effective internet filtering and censorship.

Sources told Mizzima the men, Paul Crilley and Karl Sumptor are also
consulting with Bagan Cybertech on the best methods to monitor emails.

Crilley and Sumptor refused to tell Mizzima the nature of their work for
Bagan Cybertech over the telephone today, with both men hanging up
mid-conversation.

"I do not want to talk to you today," Crilley said.

A report claiming internet censorship in Burma was getting worse was
released by the OpenNet Institute yesterday. The report said Bagan
Cybertech had purchased Fortiguard, an internet filtering program produced
by US company Fortinet.

While Fortinet denied the claim, an article published in the New Light of
Myanmar in May last year, clearly shows members of the Myanmar Millennium
Group Co. Ltd. (MMG) accepting the Fortinet product at a ceremony in
Rangoon.

Mizzima has received reports that a technician from MMG said the company,
headed by Min Zeyar Hlaing, the son in law of Lt Gen Khin Maung Than, was
an official Fortinet reseller in Sunnyvale, California.

____________________________________

October 13, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burmese heroine Su Su Nway is in prison

A court in Kawmoo Township, Rangoon Division, has today sentenced Su Su
Nway to one and a half year imprisonment, according to people who attended
the court hearing.

Su Su Nway, a civil rights activist from Htan Manaing village has been
defying the bullying actions by the local authorities and successfully
sued them last year. Su Su Nway told DVB that the authorities will do
everything to ruin her life when she sued them for subjecting the
villagers to forced labour practice. Later on, the local authorities sued
her with charges of disrupting authorities on duty.

____________________________________

October 13, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar successfully invent unicode Myanmar language character system

Yangon: Myanmar technicians have successfully invented computerized
unicode Myanmar language character system, contributing towards the
development of information and communication technology (ICT) in the
country, the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Thursday.

Myanmar language consonants, vowels, numbers and special symbols can be
used on computer in digital form, the e-National Task Force was quoted as
saying.

The Myanmar language characters, which are in accord with orthography, can
be used in word processing, e-mailing and writing web page in any computer
system, the sources added.

According to the report, the Myanmar info-Tech Corporation stands the
first organization in launching Myanmar unicode font installer software on
the internet.

Meanwhile, expedition of the work of translating world languages into
Myanmar on computer is also underway.

In a bid to expand the country's internet services, a Canadian ICT company
has reached a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar to run an internet
service provider (ISP). The current private ISP in Myanmar went to the
Bagan Cybertech Co., which had initiated the internet and the
internet-based telephone system in 2001 in cooperation with the Shin
Satellite Co. of Thailand.

Moreover, Myanmar is also finalizing an upgraded draft of an ICT master
plan for implementation to speed up the ICT development in every business
sector in the country

According to official statistics, the number of internet users in Myanmar
has stood over 70,000 since it was introduced. The number of subscribers
rose 133 percent within a year from 2003 when it was only 30,000.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has launched some e-government systems including
e-visa, e-passport, and e-procurement to effect management of government
bodies.

Myanmar introduced e-education system in early 2001. Being a signatory to
the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement initiated at the regional summit in
Singapore in 2000, Myanmar has also formed the e-National task Force to
support the IT development.

The country has also signed a series of MoUs with companies from Malaysia,
Thailand and an ASEAN organization on ICT development.

____________________________________

October 13, Associated Press
Criticism of distinguished authors' report on Myanmar takes a turn for the
verse

Yangon: In prose and poetry, Myanmar's ruling junta has launched scathing
attacks on two distinguished human rights advocates, Czech ex-President
Vaclav Havel and retired South African archbishop Desmond Tutu, who both
recently compiled a report critical of the military regime.

The criticism came after Havel and Nobel peace laureate Tutu - both
staunch supporters of detained Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, another Nobel laureate - advocated in their report last month that
the U.N. Security Council take action against the military government.

Over the past week, state-run media have been denouncing the two men for
their "ill will towards Myanmar with intent to disrupt stability."

In a poem published Tuesday in the English-language New Light of Myanmar
newspaper, Byan Hlawr wrote of how he believed the founder of the Nobel
awards, Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel, would be appalled at the critical
report:

"If recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize
Are discovered as working to destroy a nation,
And clearly discerned by Alfred,
He surely will turn in his grave,
Remorseful that what he had initiated and established
Had gone wrong.
He would only lament regretfully."

Myanmar's current military government took power in 1988 after brutally
crushing a pro-democracy movement. In 1990, it refused to hand over power
when Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory in general elections.

____________________________________

October 13, Irrawaddy
Sign of the times - Clive Parker

Latest Myanmar Times setback highlights increased junta interference

One year ago the Myanmar Times might have been forgiven for feeling
optimistic. The paper was about to relocate to bigger premises in downtown
Rangoon to accommodate a swelling team of reporters, while a printing
press was making its way from New Zealand that would allow Editor-in-Chief
Ross Dunkley and his team to publish in-house for the first time.

That was, however, before Monday, October 18, 2004—the day former prime
minister and head of Military Intelligence Gen Khin Nyunt was arrested for
corruption.

Dunkley’s comment to Asiaweek shortly after he launched his
English-language weekly in 2001 that “in some ways we are a litmus test to
an opening up process” has this year proven to be prophetic.

The sentencing of Deputy CEO Sonny Swe and his father Brig-Gen Thein
Swe—formerly of MI and the Myanmar Times’ chief censor until Khin Nyunt’s
ouster—to 14 and 152 years in prison respectively for corruption and
bypassing the official censorship process—was merely the first setback.

Whereas the newspaper could occasionally print articles and even pictures
of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2002 when the political situation was less tense,
in the past 12 months the Myanmar Times has been “asked” to run stories
provided by the Ministry of Information almost every week.

However, it is a request made last month by the ministry that Sonny Swe
and his wife, Yamin Htin Aung, give up their 51 percent stake in the
newspaper that poses the greatest threat to the publication and best
highlights Burma’s overall press situation, analysts say.

With the junta “requesting” that Ross Dunkley finally purge his paper of
all links to MI, it looks likely the Myanmar Times will have to take on
someone with little interest in furthering editorial standards. The only
two names known to have been put forward at this stage are those of
leading businessman Tay Za and publisher Tin Tun Oo—both considered
extremely close to the highest echelons of the junta.

Although Tay Za’s brother Thiha told The Irrawaddy “he has nothing to do
with the Myanmar Times,” Burma’s best-known tycoon has reportedly been
seen at its head office on Bo Aung Kyaw Street recently, while managers at
the newspaper have refused to deny his involvement.

More likely though, sources say, is Tin Tun Oo, owner of Thuta Swezone
(Knowledge) Publishing House, which produces seven journals, including its
eponymous flagship title.

Tin Tun Oo—insultingly dubbed “the bald-headed man” by other Burmese
journalists—has a confirmed interest in the Myanmar Times, which would
undoubtedly prove to be bad news for Ross Dunkley and his team, Burmese
journalists say.

Rangoon-based editors say Tin Tun Oo is well-known for his links to MOI
and the Ministry of Culture since before 1988. These contacts, they say,
have given him the ability to buy and sell land as well as obtain coveted
car import licenses with which to sell foreign vehicles in Rangoon.

“If he takes over part ownership of Myanmar Times
 [it] will be nothing.
His publications—all publications—lack the spirit of journalism,” a
Burmese journalist commented, highlighting Tin Tun Oo’s failure to attempt
to push the boundaries of Burma’s censorship process during his lengthy
spell working in the country’s publishing industry.

The Burmese junta’s increased meddling in the private press this year has
resulted in a severe downturn in fortunes at the Myanmar Times. The paper
has still not been able to print on its own presses, and there are rumors
the organization is in financial difficulties, having previously been
considered one of the richest publications in Burma before the dismantling
of MI.

Whereas the paper employed eight native English-speaking staff a year ago,
it now only has four after most of those that left did so citing
instability and increasing editorial constraint. Furthermore, Dunkley is
still no nearer his plan to publish five editions a week.

The occasional sensitive story has appeared in the paper in recent months,
but these have been far outweighed by regular contributions by MOI—a
scourge all Burmese publications have faced this year.

MOI’s stated plans to encourage spontaneous positive coverage of
government policy in the private press now look more likely in the case of
the Myanmar Times following the ouster of Sonny Swe and his wife, analysts
say.

Sonny Swe never had any editorial involvement and neither does his wife
now—both have always controlled the business and marketing side of the
operation. They were, however, close to Dunkley, allowing the Australian
free editorial rein within the constraints of the censorship process. The
new majority-owning partner will undoubtedly be an unknown quantity for
Dunkley—he is not close to any of those said to have shown an interest
thus far. That the new controlling stakeholder will be close to major
players in the Burmese military, however, can be considered a certainty,
sources say.

The Myanmar Times’ CEO Ross Dunkley, the head of Thuta Swezone Publishing,
Tin Tun Oo, and Burma’s Press Scrutiny and Registration Division were all
unavailable for comment.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

October 13, Bangkok Post
Panel suspects foul play in Karen deaths - Tul Pinkaew

Spokesman says many questions unanswered

The House police affairs committee suspects foul play in the death of
three Karen drug suspects found hanged in a police cell in Lamphun early
last week. Lamphun authorities have listed the deaths as suicide sparked
by fear of the penalty for trafficking.

But the panel, after a visit to examine the circumstances surrounding the
deaths, is leaning toward extra-judicial killings by state officials or a
third party.

''In my humble opinion there are far too many questions and the time has
come for them to be answered,'' said the panel spokesman Wattana
Sengpairoh.

Pale-kwa Chobhatthakam, 24, Pachansuk Ornjong, 19, and Boonchu Sujipat,
22, all from Chiang Mai's Om Koi district, were arrested on Oct 2, along
with a fourth suspect, Chanlit Baramisak, 23, and charged with possession
of 1,700 methamphetamine pills.

The three, who all allegedly confessed, were found hanged from the top bar
of their cell by shoe laces early on Oct 3, less than 24 hours after they
were arrested.

Mr Chanlit, who was in the same cell but did not confess to the charges,
claimed he slept through the incident.

Lamphun police led by Pol Col Narongchai Wongsamee, a superintendent,
yesterday presented the panel with surveillance camera footage from the
corridor outside the cell and offered theories on how the suspects hanged
themselves by their shoe laces, which did not impress the panel members.

Acting committee chairman Wirat Tayangkhanon said police regulations do
not allow prisoners to take objects they could use to harm themselves into
the cell. This includes shoe laces, which have been used in the past to
commit suicide.

Mr Wirat said the way the surveillance camera was positioned it was not
able to see into all four cells.

''The video footage also showed that at exactly 4am when Mr Chanlit called
out for help from inside the cell, Warrant Officer Korakot Ounruen
casually walked to the cell door and unlocked it to let Mr Chanlit out,''
he said.

''He walked back to the front of the station without even looking inside
the cell to see if the suspects were actually dead.''

Mr Wirat said Lamphun police were also unable to collect any fingerprints
from the walls or the bars of the cells, claiming the bars were too
slippery.

Warrant Officer Korakot told the committee he was afraid of ghosts and did
not want to look into the cell, and also afraid he would interfere with
the crime scene.

Pol Col Narongchai told the panel he would wait for forensic experts from
Lamphun and Maharaj Nakhon Chiang Mai hospitals and Chiang Mai University,
who backed police accounts of the suspects committing suicide, to finalise
their report before making any further comment.

''We want to get to the bottom of this and the committee will next week
ask for the team of doctors from Chiang Mai and Lamphun to appear in front
of this panel because we are unable to do so today [Wednesday],'' Mr Wirat
said.

Committee chairman Niphit Intarasombat said on Tuesday that if the
forensic experts failed to satisfy the House committee, it would ask that
fresh autopsies be done by Porntip Rojanasunan, director of the Central
Institute of Forensic Science.

____________________________________

October 13, Agence France Presse
Malaysia to issue biometric ID cards to foreign workers

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia will issue biometric identity cards to foreign
workers by the end of the year as part of efforts to crack down on illegal
migrant workers, local media said Thursday.

Under the 30 million ringgit (eight million dollar) system, the cards will
be issued to construction, manufacturing, agricultural and restaurant
workers, said Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid.

Azmi said the cards will carry the bearer's personal details and
fingerprints and would be tamper-proof thanks to various security
features.

"Card tampering might happen, but they can't change the information in the
microchip," he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times. "Any attempt
to remove the chip will result in damage to the card.

"The old passport system was not very secure as forgeries could be made
and sold to foreign workers," he told the official Bernama news agency.

In future the Malaysian-developed system may be used for domestic maids
from foreign countries, he added.

Malaysia is one of Asia's largest importers of foreign labour. Foreign
workers, both legal and illegal, number around 2.6 million of its 10.5
million-strong workforce.

The repatriation of about 400,000 illegal immigrants, mainly low-wage
Indonesians, during a four-month amnesty that ended in March left a huge
labour shortage.

This has prompted the government to fast-track the recruitment of some
100,000 Pakistanis. The government has also been looking for workers from
India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and Vietnam.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

October 13, Inter Press Service
UN launches new Democracy Fund - Ayesha Gooneratne

The UN has garnered more than US $42 million in pledges to create a new
Democracy Fund (UNDEF) that would help countries transitioning from
authoritarian regimes to free societies.

Victor Arango of the UN Development Programme told IPS that “the Fund will
complement current UN efforts” and should be up and running by next year.

The Fund’s main objectives are to strengthen democratic institutions and
governance in countries seeking to establish or restore democracies,
including grants for projects to build civil society, strengthen the rule
of law, establish political parties and independent courts, or develop
free press and trade unions.

Simon Weber of Citizens for Global Solutions, a US-based human rights
group, told IPS that 13 countries have kicked off the funding, with the
US, India, and Australia comprising the largest contributions with $10
million each.

“Thus far, only five million has actually been paid, but most observers
are optimistic that pledges will be honored,” he said.

Another 26 countries have expressed support and pledges, including
Britain, Germany, France, Hungary, Italy, Mauritius, Portugal, Qatar,
Senegal, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and South Korea.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan endorsed UNDEF on July 4 at a meeting of
the African Summit in Libya. He told the assembled members that the Fund
would assist in alleviating the potential strain of maintaining and
constructing democratic institutions.

Arango said that the Fund would “fill gaps, and respond to requests that
go beyond the reach of existing mechanisms. It will work closely, in a
structured manner, with other UN bodies to ensure coordination and avoid
overlap.”

He said an advisory board of “geographically diverse” member states under
the secretary-general’s authority will oversee the Fund and recommend
proposals for funding.

The UN Fund for International Partnerships will also be involved with the
Fund by providing administrative and financial support. Other departments
and agencies, such as the Department of Political Affairs, UNDP, and the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, are to review
applications and forward recommendations to the advisory board.

Arango said, “The Fund will have a dedicated support office that will
arrange for monitoring and evaluation, as well as audit exercises.” It
would also report to the General Assembly.

The Fund has been endorsed by the secretary-general, but its origins were
suggested by the George W Bush administration. In his speech at the 2004
UN General Assembly, Bush declared that the Fund “would help countries lay
the foundations of democracy by instituting the rule of law, independent
courts, a free press, political parties, and trade unions.”

In addition to the US, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has strongly
endorsed UNDEF, signaled by India’s large pledge. In his speech at the
official launch of the Fund on September 14, Singh highlighted his
democratic ideals.

“A strong and independent judiciary, a free press, professional civil and
military establishments, constitutionally empowered institutions to
safeguard the rights of minorities, of women and children and an
independent electoral mechanism; these constitute the veritable nuts and
bolts of democracy.”

Annan, also speaking at the launch, acknowledged that not all UN member
states were democracies. However, he maintained that all of them “accept
democratization as something desirable, at least in principle.”

He also declared that “there is no single model of democracy,” a statement
echoed in the secretary-general’s recent report, “In Larger Freedom.” In a
section titled “Freedom to Live in Dignity,” Annan stated, “The United
Nations should not restrict its role to norm-setting but should expand its
help to its members to further broaden and deepen democratic trends
throughout the world.”

According to Citizens for Global Solutions, any country, non-governmental
organization, or UN body may apply for funding with proposals weighed on
their merits.

Arango affirmed to IPS that the Fund would not endorse any single model of
democracy, nor would there be any basis of conditionality. “Under no
circumstance could activities undertaken by the Fund be ‘imposed’ on a
country. The approach will be one of collaboration and support.”

The Fund is still in the formulation stages but appears to have wide
international support, as indicated by language in the outcome document
signed by heads of state at the World Summit this September.

“We renew our commitment to support democracy by strengthening countries’
capacity to implement the principles and practices of democracy and
resolve to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations to assist Member
States upon their request. We welcome the establishment of a Democracy
Fund at the United Nations.”

____________________________________

October 13, Narinjara News
Daewoo to face new challenges from activists against its gas business
interests in Burma

Daewoo is going to face protests from activists who are against its
cooperation with the Burmese junta in the natural gas extraction on off
shore gas fields in Arakan State.

Natural gas from the Block Shwe Sea in Arakan will be sold to India by the
Burmese junta through the Consortium lead by Daewoo. Arakanese,
environmental and democracy activists will be staging a global campaign
against the gas sale at Korean embassies throughout the world on the
October 14.

Maung Khine Monn Zan from the United Kingdom says in an email that Burmese
activists will protest at the Korean Embassy on the October 14 between 2
and 3 pm to demand the withdraw of the Korean company Daewoo from Burma’s
gas venture. The South Korean Embassy’s address in London is No.60
Buckingham Gate.W1E 6AJ. St.James's Park Station.

Activists in USA, South Korea, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, the
Philippines and the Netherlands will also be protesting against Daewoo at
their respective country’s South Korean Embassies on October 14.

On October 14 there will be a demonstration at the head quarters of Daewoo
by Korean activists in cooperation with Burmese people in Korea and other
activists from the Shwe Gas Movement in Thailand, Bangladesh, and India.

One of the activists, Ko Soe Lunn, explains that “the Burmese junta is
selling our natural resources from our State without our agreement and
support. They do not have the mandate to sell our resources. Moreover, all
the proceeds from the gas sale will not be used for the benefits of the
people of Arakan. This gas project is not beneficial, but only be
detrimental. There can only be more violations of the rights of the
Arakanese. Daewoo’s involvement is allowing these violations to occur.
That is why we are protesting against its involvement.”

Arakanese people in Arakan State are also in agreement with the activists
outside, says the Monk Sandaw Batha in Bangladesh, who just returned from
Burma from his trip to survey the public opinion on this issue.

The monk said “every Arakanese is against it. They all don’t like it at
all. It is good that activists are protesting against the Korean
government and Daewoo. They are acting on behalf of the Arakanese people
who are being imprisoned in their own country. If Daewoo does not listen
to the peaceful protests of the Arakanese people, the consequences of that
will be the responsibility of Daewoo.”

____________________________________

October 13, Agence France Presse
Money laundering watchdog clears Nauru, keeps pressure on Nigeria, Myanmar

Paris: The Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental body to
combat money laundering, said Thursday the Pacific island of Nauru had
been removed from its list of uncooperative countries, where Nigeria and
Myanmar remain.

The Paris-based FATF, which has 31 member countries as well as the
European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council, said Nauru had been
removed from its list of "non-cooperative countries" after the government
there agreed to close an offshore financial centre.

"Nauru has now been withdrawn from the list of non-cooperative countries
and territories," said Kader Asmal, the new South African head of the
organisation after a meeting on Thursday.

A statement from the FATF said Nigeria and Myanmar had "taken many
necessary legal reforms" and were encouraged to go futher.

"We'll see how we can assist Nigeria to come out of the list, too," said
Asmal.

The FATF, created after a Group of 7 meeting in 1989, has responsibility
for monitoring money laundering techniques and trends and keeps up
pressure on non-cooperative countries to encourage them to close obvious
loopholes used by money launderers.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

October 13, Irrawaddy
Maybe this time – Aung Din

A new proposal on Burma would directly involve the UN Security Council

A round-up of Burmese opinions on the possibility of effective UN action
posted by The Irrawaddy on its website a few weeks ago crystallized what
many of us have been feeling for some time: The UN may be a paper tiger
incapable of bringing change to Burma. Let’s be honest. What has the UN
done for Burma lately?

Most Burmese would agree that the answer is “not much.” Indeed, it is
increasingly looking as if Burma—like Rwanda, Srebrenica, and Darfur—will
go down in history as one of the UN’s great failures. Meanwhile, the
military regime continues to rack up its list of atrocities: millions
pushed into forced labor, more child soldiers than any other country in
the world, 2,700 villages destroyed in eastern Burma since 1996 and the
use of rape as a weapon throughout the country, to name but a few.

One might expect that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan would be embarrassed
by this series of failures on Burma and want to correct his future
actions.    In one year, he was “concerned,” then “increasingly
concerned,” then “gravely concerned” and then—inexplicably—only
“concerned” again.

But is lack of progress in Burma really Annan’s fault? He is not the one
burning down villages and forcing hundreds of thousands of refugees to
flee their homes both inside the country and across borders. Whose fault
is it? Clearly the ruling State Peace and Development Council is the
primary barrier to progress in Burma.  Who else is to blame?  Is it China,
which has provided billions of dollars in weaponry and equipment to the
regime? Is it Asean, which has exercised a policy of “constructive
engagement” that was in reality a policy of hoping for slow change through
the pursuit of business interests?

What about the US and EU, who responded to the opposition National League
for Democracy’s call for sanctions on Burma while also spending millions
on humanitarian assistance, yet not offering a framework for international
negotiations?  All these are UN members, yet the UN as a whole has failed
to bring change to Burma.

Still, we should not lose hope in the UN system. It represents the only
source of global legitimacy in today’s world, despite its weaknesses. As
Burmese, it is in our interest to strengthen the UN system. After all, the
UN’s calls for national reconciliation in Burma are not wrong; they are
just weak.  The 14 consecutive resolutions passed by the UN General
Assembly and 13 consecutive resolutions by the Commission on Human Rights
represent not only the collective opinion of the international community,
but the desires of the Burmese people.

The democracy movement, military regime and those not involved in politics
all say they want to see genuine national reconciliation in Burma.  This
desire extends beyond Burma—Asean, the US, EU, China, India, Japan and
others have all called for it. Moreover, all want to see change soon. As
Singapore’s Lee Kwan Yew recently said about Burma: “To stay frozen in
time means they are building up problems for themselves, and those
problems will overflow into Asean.”

The UN’s three accomplishments—uniting world opinion, injecting a
reasonable sense of urgency, and agreeing on a common mechanism for
change—are real and not without merit. The problem is that the mechanism
needs adjustment. The Burmese regime has had more than a decade to
cooperate with the good offices of the UN secretary-general, but it has
refused. Ten years of failure is enough to show that the present mechanism
is broken.

One positive proposal for fixing this broken mechanism and strengthening
the UN’s role in Burma—indeed, the only pro-active proposal—was launched
on September 20 by former Czech President Vaclav Havel and 1984 Nobel
Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu. They proposed a UN Security Council
resolution that would compel the SPDC to work with the secretary-general. 
It would also authorize him to report back periodically to the council. 
Unlike UN General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights resolutions that
are unenforceable, the UNSC resolution would be binding.  This means that
the regime must work with Annan towards national reconciliation—or stand
in violation of the UN Charter. In what appears to be a nod towards
building an international consensus that all can agree on, Havel and Tutu
did not call for sanctions to be applied through the council.

The UNSC has cited serious refugee flows, drug production, human rights
abuses, the overthrow of a democratic government and armed conflict among
factions in its past decisions to take action on a country. What is unique
about Burma is that all of these factors are at play, and many are
especially severe. Indeed, no UNSC member should fear that a resolution on
Burma would set a precedent for action on its own country—Burma is beyond
the pale.

World leaders should embrace this proposal. In fact, the level of support
for the proposal will test whether countries and regions mean what they
say when they claim to support UN efforts in Burma.  After all, isn’t this
what everyone has agreed on: national reconciliation through dialogue,
multilateral talks, and diplomacy?

Aung Din is a former political prisoner in Burma and co-founder and policy
director of Washington DC-based US Campaign for Burma.